I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Chapter 297

How does it know?

How does it know that I wasn't originally a lizard, but a human—soone who didn’t belong to this world?

My heart pounded violently.

That ant... that Thunderbird had sothing to do with my reincarnation.

Forget Jinryong, forget Al-Yu—was the Thunderbird actually the true mastermind behind everything?

— Surrender your body to .

The silent Shimma suddenly spoke.

— I’ll tear that thing apart for you right this mont.

The sheer malice and killing intent were suffocating.

Far more ominous than when I faced Qiongqi and Bihui.

"Why? Is Gomodo talking to you?"

"Is it telling you to hand your body over?"

The Thunderbird spoke with a smirk.

"That thing is so simple. Acting like that only makes my words more credible."

...It wasn’t wrong.

Why was Gomodo, who had been silent until now, suddenly speaking to ?

To kill the Thunderbird.

No, beyond that—to prevent from speaking with it.

— You don’t need to listen to that thing. Just quietly give yourself to ...

KWAANG!

My head smashed straight into the ground.

“Keuk... Looks like you're finally ready to listen.”

Shimma’s voice was just too loud, too intrusive.

"You want to know how I know that?"

Fine. I’d listen.

Only then could I decide how to act.

"The answer is simple. I once shared the sa purpose as Gomodo."

A forr companion of the previous Gomodo.

Now serving under Jinryong. So, in the end, it had betrayed him.

"That’s why I know exactly what kind of creature Gomodo was. And what kind of preparations it made."

Its voice, filled with madness, continued.

"During the final war, Gomodo quite literally vanished."

The war between Gomodo and Jinryong.

The world believed Jinryong had won, but the fact that it remained sealed within Kunlun proved otherwise.

"Did Jinryong defeat Gomodo? No. It couldn't. Jinryong was pushed to the brink of death. And yet, Gomodo disappeared. What do you think happened?"

It laughed as if entertained.

"That thing was banished from this world! That’s the only explanation!"

Banished from the world.

Could such a thing even happen?

No, if I—a human—could be reincarnated as a lizard, then what was truly impossible?

"And Gomodo acted as if it had expected this. It made plans. A contingency. So that even if it vanished, it could return one day."

But what did that have to do with ?

"Jinryong was terrified. It never confird Gomodo’s death. So it believed Gomodo would return one day."

And just as Jinryong had feared, Gomodo had returned.

Even if it was now trapped within .

"So I told it. Gomodo would return by borrowing the body of its descendant."

...That explained Gomodo’s murderous rage and hostility.

Because it had been completely betrayed.

But how did the Thunderbird know all this?

"Every last one of its descendants was wiped out. For countless, unimaginable years, Jinryong slaughtered every dragon-kin that even slightly resembled Gomodo."

The parents of the Red Dragon, along with countless other spirit beasts, must have perished.

Simply because there was a possibility that Gomodo might return.

"I crushed Gomodo’s grand sche with my own hands! HAHAHA! You wouldn’t believe how satisfying it was!"

The Thunderbird grinned mockingly, but then suddenly, its face turned serious.

"But then... you appeared."

Jinryong, who had planned to eradicate all humans, would never have made a mistake.

It had gone to extre lengths, even mobilizing beings like Bingryong and the Thunderbird, to track down and kill a re gecko lizard.

"This doesn’t make sense. Was there a flaw in our net? No. Impossible. I confird it again and again."

And yet, Gomodo’s descendant had appeared.

Inside .

"Even if a descendant existed, it would have been too weak—nothing more than a pathetic lizard. But you have defied all logic and grown this powerful."

Its voice wavered between rage and sothing disturbingly close to joy.

"This shouldn't be possible. There was no vessel to hold it, and yet... how has it returned?"

Excitent dripped from its words, unable to conceal its thrill.

"But in the end, it has returned. When I first heard the reports, I had my doubts, but now that I see you with my own eyes, I finally understand. If there was no vessel..."

It paused dramatically.

"Then a vessel must have been created."

...A created vessel?

"That’s right. You are the vessel Gomodo made."

A vessel crafted by Gomodo...

"Every last descendant of Gomodo was exterminated. Even if one remained, its blood would be so diluted that it would be aningless. There was no longer any need to worry."

There were no more true descendants of Gomodo in this world.

Except for .

"Even if Gomodo created a vessel, it wouldn’t matter. A banished being’s creation could never cross into this world. That’s why we stopped searching for Gomodo’s bloodline and focused on preparing for the future."

The future.

The true purpose of all this.

To finish what Jinryong had started—eradicating humanity and achieving eternal life.

"But... that was our mistake. A lowly lizard, on the brink of death, laid an egg. And you managed to slip through that crack and enter this world. Hahaha! What an absurd coincidence!"

The last lizard carrying Gomodo’s blood.

She had been slaughtered.

But before she died...

She left behind .

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"Isn’t it hilarious? A lizard, wounded and maid, fled across the Central Plains, deceiving all of us, and laid an egg. No wonder... Gomodo, who had fought so desperately, accepted death so easily in the end."

What?

"Ah? What’s with that expression?"

The Thunderbird stared at before sticking out its tongue in amusent.

"Ohhh, I see. To you, that thing was practically a mother, huh? Well, I killed—"

I lunged at it.

KWAANG!

But in my current state, even the Thunderbird’s human form was beyond .

Kuugugu...

It effortlessly blocked my attack.

"What? Is this so kind of reaction? Puhahaha! Are you seriously angry right now?"

The Thunderbird burst into laughter, thoroughly entertained by my reaction.

Why was I so furious?

It was just so lizard I had never even t.

Where was this rage coming from?

Where was it heading?

...I didn’t know.

And I didn’t care.

ZZZZZHHHHH!

I charged recklessly, without a single thought for what ca next.

My head was burning, and if I didn’t do sothing—anything—I felt like I would lose consciousness.

It wasn’t just simple rage.

Just like Bingryong had pointed out, the doubts I’d held about my own identity all this ti...

The confusion that stemd from them.

A second life was sothing one might call a blessing, but living as a lizard? That had to be a curse.

KWAANG!

I had tried to stay optimistic.

I lived like a simple-minded lizard.

I told myself that even life as a lizard wasn’t so bad.

I had been deceiving myself.

Because I was once human—because I had a human mind—I couldn’t have survived this life if I didn’t force myself to believe it was fine.

So I had to be optimistic. I had to pretend I was thoughtless.

That was the only way I had managed to endure.

ZZZZZT!

But there were tis when I simply couldn’t endure.

Humans are warm-blooded creatures.

Lizards are ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) cold-blooded.

No matter how much ti passed, my cold blood never truly adjusted.

Whenever the cold night wind blew, dark thoughts filled my mind.

That was why I sought warmth from others.

Because when I was in that warmth, it felt like—just for a mont—I had returned to being human.

KRAAAAK!

The Thunderbird's attack sent my body crashing down.

My form, buried in the rocks, could no longer move.

My eyes grew heavy.

It felt like I was falling into a long dream.

Who was I?

Was I a human dreaming of being a lizard?

Or was I a lizard dreaming of being human?

If I closed my eyes here and opened them again, I would probably forget everything I had experienced.

Just like mories of childhood fevers—

Scattering, fading into obscurity.

...

Right before my eyes shut completely, I caught sight of a silver thread around my neck.

A trinket, decorated with seashells and jewels.

A token that carried the traces of others, so much so that its original shape was no longer recognizable.

......

Who am I?

A lizard dreaming of being human?

A human dreaming of being a lizard?

Neither my human mories nor my lizard mories had faded.

Did it even matter which one I was?

Did it an anything to distinguish them?

I was born human.

I was thrown into a martial arts world.

I had lived as a lizard.

And yet... I had more joyful mories than painful ones.

How could I possibly call this a curse?

I had beco an evolving lizard in a martial arts world.

Sothing no one else could ever experience—

Sothing I could even call an adventure.

How could this not be a blessing?

The Gae Gak Sect was never about species.

It was about those at the bottom reaching for the top.

What did it matter if I was a lizard or a human?

Tzzzzzt.

My massive body shrunk.

It dwindled until it was around the sa size as the Thunderbird.

The approaching footsteps stopped.

“...What is that form?”

My tough, hardened scales vanished, replaced by vulnerable flesh.

I had no tail, making it harder to balance.

My claws dulled, and my body beca covered in black robes.

"Pfft! And what do you think you can do now?!"

It was the human form I had longed for.

So now—after everything—was I finally being given my body back?

But...

This wasn’t what I needed.

A human body was too weak—too fragile to protect what was precious to .

...

Was that really true?

Was I truly incapable of protecting anyone in this form?

No.

I didn’t need claws to cut down my enemies.

I didn’t need scales to defend myself.

The body itself didn’t matter.

After all, even a tiny lizard had once protected .

Slowly, I stood up.

For the first ti, I saw the world not through a lizard’s eyes—

But through human eyes.

[You have activated Dragon Speech.]

I spoke, not with the abilities of a human, but as a lizard.

"My body shall beco a sword."

A sword was ford.

Not from a severed tail—

But from my entire being.

My body was the sword.

And the sword was .

This was Sword Unity—a blade and its wielder as one.

A lizard dreaming of being human was .

A human dreaming of being a lizard was also .

Why should they be any different?

The sa was true for the Five Elents.

Wood, Fire, tal, Earth, Water.

The universe itself was a cycle—the Five Elents in harmony.

So why should I separate myself from my own existence?

My mind beca clearer than ever before.

All the energy in my dantian reached perfect harmony.

It was a sensation I had never experienced before.

It was as if every elixir I had consud—every pill I had absorbed—

Were shouting inside .

Why... had I not used their power until now?

The vessel I once thought too small—

Now felt imasurable.

Yes.

This was what my master had spoken of.

This was enlightennt.

And this was the realm of Harmony.